So much for government accountability! The Alberta NDP government is repealing its own self-imposed debt ceiling, just a few months after introducing it. The debt ceiling capped the debt-to-GDP ratio at 15%, but the government has decided that refusing to curb its spending spree (which was started under the PCs) justifies letting the debt grow and grow, becoming a big beautiful tree set to fall squarely onto future taxpayers.

In the hallowed halls of our province’s legislature, the Fiscal Statutes Amendment Act (Bill 10) is currently being debated in committee of the whole. The bill is between readings as the government presses forward to repeal the debt ceiling. This begs the question: why bring in a debt ceiling at all, if just months later the government was going to repeal it? Eliminating the debt ceiling is shameful when future taxpayers are on the hook, but in this case it’s also just weird politics.

The government originally introduced the debt ceiling idea with the October budget. The measure was key for government accountability given the news of the government borrowing for operational spending for the first time in two decades, and the size of the deficit (which has now grown to over $14 billion including infrastructure spending).

In October, Finance Minister Joe Ceci said the debt limit “will provide enough room to allow our government to play its economic role, without tipping into overdependence on debt.” 

Minister Ceci said, “debt reduction will be one of our province’s fiscal priorities once we are back in balance.”

That was then, this is now.

All three major bond-rating agencies have downgraded our once-triple-A credit rating. The growing debt-to-GDP ratio was a factor in DBRS’ decision. They noted: "DBRS believes that the fiscal response is unlikely to be adequate to maintain credit metrics consistent with the AAA rating, in particular maintaining a DBRS-adjusted debt burden below 15 per cent of GDP."

In January CBC Edmonton noted, “Finance Minister Joe Ceci has said that 15 per cent limit is critical to ensure that future generations of Albertans are not saddled with crippling debt payments.”

Guess those future generations just don’t matter anymore?

Debt has consequences today too: by 2018 the government will be blowing $2 billion per year on debt interest payments alone. To put that in perspective, $2 billion could hire about 20,000 new teachers.

Debate on this issue is set to continue throughout this week. The Alberta government should not be let off the hook for going back on its word, compromising the province’s credit rating, and sticking the kids with the bill for today’s bloated spending.